Saanen Body Condition

[FrogTacos]

I just got a girl yesterday - her name is Dolly - 3 yrs old. Maybe I have just been around Boers too much but the poor thing is skinny as a rail. (I will post a picture of her tomorrow so you guys can see her) I can run my finger down her back and feel all the little bumps in her spine, ribs are just under the surface, her hip bones poke out, she is sunken on her sides...

Is she too skinny??

[Creamers]

Yes. . .
This is the dam of one of my girls. . .owned by a friend. . . you SHOULD not have the condition you're describing. . .

That doe was giving 2 gallons a day and was at least 150 days in milk at that point. . .

[eclipchic]

I'm not sure but compared to my nubian doe my saanen wether runs lean. Right now he's quite shaggy but most of the saanens I've seen look a good deal slimmer than nubians and boers

[FrogTacos]

She is definitely skinnier than that one in the picture. I will post some tomorrow - I plan on breeding her in April and want to make sure she has proper weight first.

Are Saanen does supposed to have beards?

[DamnearaFarm]

They can have beards. Rabbitpatch has one that does. Wattles are also a possibility.. I have one that has them.

[saanengirl]

Saanens that are in milk should be lean but not emaciated. Saanens that are not in milk should be carrying some flesh but will not look as round as a Boer, and still may have hollows in front of the hip, depending on how they are built. You should be able to feel the ribs easily even if you can't see them.

[saanengirl]

Here are some photos to look at.

The first one is a Saanen yearling milker about a month in milk. She is in appropriate body condition for her age and stage of lactation.



This picture is of a Saanen doe at 3 years of age about 6 months into her lactation. This is appropriate body condition for this doe and what she was milking at the time. This was a 3000+ lb lactation. This is a doe that always appears lean, even when she is dry and carrying some body fat. When she is in lactation she is always very lean, even when fed free-choice.



This photo is of a 6 month old Saanen doe kid that is overconditioned (too fat)



This photo is of a 5 month Saanen doe kid that is in ideal condition.

[FrogTacos]

Thanks for the pictures! I would put her between the first two pictures - she is not in milk or pregnant.

[saanengirl]

Ok, if she is not in milk she is underconditioned. With a good deworming and good food she should gain weight quickly.

Here is a doe that I bought back from an individual who purchased her from my parents in 2007.

This photo was taken in March 2011, shortly after I brought her home. She is very underweight in this picture.


This photo was taken in June 2011, 2 1/2 months after being on my feeding program. She is at a good weight in this photo, and new, healthy hair is starting to come in under the rough unhealthy coat that she had before.



This photo was taken in September 2011, nearly 6 months after I purchased her.



You see how quickly she gained weight, and in the third picture is actually slightly overconditioned. Dry mature does do not have many demands on their bodies so can gain weight easily. In fact, this doe spontaneously came into milk with good feed. I only milked enough to prevent overbagging because she was never trained to the milk stand and I didn't want to mess with training her to the milk stand without having maternal hormones to help! She is due to kid at the end of February or the beginning of March (depending on whether or not she goes over her due date) and will be trained to the milk stand then.

[Hollowdweller]

Besides feeding it has a lot to do with bloodlines.

The more dairy a goat is generally speaking the less fat she will carry.

If you have a heavy milker that is really skinny, esp in peak lactation that's normal.

If you have a low milker (12 lbs a day or less) that is skinny then probably need to up the nutrition.

[lonelyfarmgirl]

my saanens are both ways. I had a buck that was a son of ralph lauren. I couldn't keep weight on him to save my life. I think its just the way he was. If you can feel defined spine bumps, though, thats too thin. My does look about like the medium weight ones pictured above.

[Hollowdweller]

Originally Posted by lonelyfarmgirl

my saanens are both ways. I had a buck that was a son of ralph lauren.

Cari Eschelman had some beautiful saanens.